5-letter words with L as the 1st letter and P as the 3rd letter

The pattern is L?P??: the first letter is fixed at L, the third at P, and the other three slots vary. Lapse, lapel, lupus, and lipid are among the recognizable options, while lapje leads the score table. Just three of the 20 entries rank among the most common English words, so expect a compact mix of familiar and specialist vocabulary.

Quick facts about the L?P?? pattern

• Exactly 20 tournament-listed words match L?P??.
• Five are Wordle answers; all 20 are in the allowed-guess set.
• LAPJE scores 14 points, ahead of LIPPY and LOPPY at 12 each.
• Five matches end in S, the most frequent final letter.
• Only three matches fall within the common-word group.

Which L?P?? words fit Wordle?

Five words in this pattern also occur in the Wordle answer list, and all 20 qualify as allowed guesses. That makes the pattern unusually productive for a tightly constrained clue: even after you fix L and P, the list retains both answer candidates and legal probes. The answer subset is not named here, so treat the pattern as a filter rather than a prediction.

Start with familiar examples such as LAPSE, LAPEL, LUPUS, and LIPID to test likely letter combinations. The five endings in S make LAPSE and LOPES worth checking when your final square is open; endings D and N occur three times each. A final S is the strongest frequency clue, not proof of a solution, so test common-looking stems first and use the terminal pattern to narrow remaining possibilities.

5-letter words with L as the 1st letter and P as the 3rd letter

On a Scrabble board, LAPJE is the standout: its base score is 14, while LIPPY and LOPPY score 12 apiece. The average score across the set is 8, so the top word sits well above the ordinary play. Save LAPJE for a premium square if its spelling is accepted in your game; the J drives its edge.

Dictionary coverage is not identical: 19 entries occur in Collins, 17 in NWL2023, and 15 in ENABLE, against the overall count of 20. That gap matters more than the pattern when you play across dictionaries: check your game's word list once before building a move around an obscure form. Only three entries are common, so rarity—not the fixed letters—is the main practical limitation.